Alfax
}} The Alfax (アルファックス) is a Japanese camera taking 4×5cm exposures on 127 film. The exposure format has been described as 4×4.5cm, which perhaps corresponds to the actual picture size, but the nominal format given in the advertisements was 4×5cm. The format is mistakenly reported as 4×6.5cm in , item 3001, and in , p.465. It was advertised in 1942, and it is normally attributed to Kimura Kōgaku. Attribution to Kimura: , p.334, , item 3001, , p.465. Description The Alfax has a die-cast body and a metal telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. There is an eye-level finder contained in a chrome finished top housing and a waist-level finder partly contained in the body. The top housing is recessed between the two finders, forming an accessory shoe. The front of the body supports a rectangular metal plate attached by four screws and the waist-level finder window. There is a big knob on each side of the top housing, meant to look like the advance and rewind knob of 35mm cameras. The right knob is a fake and the actual advance knob is at the left end. It has an arrow engraved on the top to indicate the winding direction and numbers from 1'' to ''10 engraved on the base to control film advance. This pretends to be an exposure counter but there is no auto-stop feature and the advance is manually controlled: you have to stop turning when the correct number is facing the T-shaped index engraved on the top housing. The back is hinged to the right and locked by a latch on the left. It contains a single red window, protected by a horizontally sliding cover, to set the position of the first exposure. The front leather is embossed with a diamond-shaped logo marked Alfa. The name ALFAX is engraved on the top housing above the eye-level finder, together with the model number, either MODEL I or MODEL II. The serial number is engraved at the bottom of the rectangular front plate. Original documents The Alfax is not mentioned in the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, presumably because it was not yet in production. . The camera was advertised in Japanese photography magazines dated February to October 1942. , p.334. The March advertisement in Hōdō Shashin lists the camera for with a Recta Anastigmat f/3.5 lens and a New Alfa shutter to 1/300. Advertisement reproduced at Gochamaze and in , p.58. No indication of the model number is given. The advertisement does not mention Kimura, but gives the name of the two distributors Nihon Shōkai and Honjō Shōkai. Actual examples The difference between the Alfax Model I and Alfax Model II is not clearly understood. Examples of both models are pictured in this page, but they look exactly similar. They have a front-cell focusing Recta Anastigmat 60mm f/3.5 lens and a New Alfa shutter giving 300–1, B, T speeds. The aperture scale is above the shutter housing and the shutter plate is marked NEW ALFA at the bottom. Notes Bibliography * Item 11. * (The Alfax does not appear in this list.) * P.465. * Item 3001. Links In English: * Alfax Model II at John Cooper's Ozcamera In Japanese: * Advertisement published in the March 1942 issue of Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in the Japanese camera page at Gochamaze Category: Japanese 4x5 viewfinder Category: A